Anaheim’s Big Dreams

David Reyes, Los Angles Times Staff Writer, brings us an update on the hoped-for Anaheim Transit Center, which has been in the planning stages for 15 years. It is planned for an area between Angel Stadium and the Arrowhead Pond (which is soon to be renamed the Honda Center). There is a tentative agreement regarding 13.5 acres. Plans for the center include a parking structure, Orange County’s largest bus terminal, and platforms for Amtrak and Metrolink trains. There would also be room for the long-discussed high-speed rail line. Shuttles would connect to the Disneyland Resort area, the Convention Center, and other key places.

The city has won a spot on the proposed route of the California High Speed Rail system between San Diego and Sacramento, but money to build the system has hit a snag. Lawmakers in June removed from the ballot a $10-billion bond proposal for high-speed rail construction. The proposal is now slated for the 2008 election.

Pringle also is on a commission of California and Nevada officials studying a 270-mile high-speed train linking Las Vegas and Ontario International Airport. Pringle is pushing to extend the route to Anaheim. The so-called Maglev train could ferry passengers at more than 250 mph from Anaheim to Ontario in 15 minutes.

If some or all of the plans become reality, it could make it easier for people to use the Ontario (California city) airport to visit the Disneyland Resort, or for international tourists to combine a Las Vegas trip with a Disneyland Resort visit, or for Disney guests to visit other points of interest in the region while lodging in Anaheim. I’m not holding my breath, though, for a Las Vegas-Anaheim high-speed rail line.